Big MachineRiley Green never intended for “I Wish Grandpas Never Died” to be on his debut album, Different Round Here. And were it not for his fans, it certainly wouldn’t be his new single.
“The last song I wrote for this album was ‘I Wish Grandpas Never Died,'” he explains. “And we actually had the album done. I had no plans of putting it on this record.”
“I wrote the song and I played it at a show,” Riley recalls. “Somebody videoed it with their iPhone and put it on YouTube, and it got a million-something views.”
“And I started playing it at shows,” he continues, “and people were singing it, and people were requesting it. Every picture I posted on Instagram, there [were] ten people going, ‘When are you gonna release “Grandpas Never Died?”‘”
Even though Riley’s record label had already released the song and video “In Love By Now” as the follow-up to Riley’s number one, “There Was This Girl,” his team decided to change course and go with “Grandpas.”
“I went to the label and said, ‘Look at this,'” Riley remembers. “And to their credit, they jumped on board with it. We went in and cut the song, added it to the record, and it very possibly could be one of the biggest tracks on the record.”
“So it was really great timing,” he reflects. “And also, it’s hats off to the fans for running to this song and showing that they were passionate about it.”
Riley’s currently headlining his own Get That Man a Beer Tour while also opening for Jon Pardi. Next year, he’ll head out on the road with Entertainer of the Decade Jason Aldean.
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